If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Hi Unregistered,
We'll be undergoing major forum changes in the very near future. Be sure to check out the details here

I'm sure they'll be plenty of warnings to remind you to remove your Pokemon if your subscription expires. They're not going to delete them like that day, but I imagine they can't keep storing them for free. People are willing to spend $35 upwards on a game, or $70 for two, yet complain about $5 a year .. I'm not rolling around in money, but I think I can manage that considering I bought a 3DS and this game. First World Problems lol

I'm usually the first to complain to my friends about some wealthy game company trying to milk money with services, unneeded "sequels" or DLC. But I actually feel okay with the PokeBank. It's fairly cheep, it's $5/year ... When I first heard the announcement, I feared it would be monthly, but I think the price is a solid selling point on this product. In theory, you'll spend more on it than $30 for "permanent" access to a service, as some companies might offer, if they implement it for several years to come, but most people will scrounge up an extra $5 much more easily.

I don't think I'll use it, personally. I don't have a way to pass on my pokemon from older carts, and while I've played newer gens, I sadly don't go terribly far through the end-game (in fact, I've never finished the main portion of Black/White, or done more than mess around on a friend's B2/W2). So, mostly I play for the new experiences.

If the service holds up, though, I see it being a really cool feature... during the initial announcement video, someone mentioned passing down their precious Charizard to their children. It doesn't sound like much, but it's pretty sweet to me.

I think they will be. I say this because there are a lot of event Pokemon (Japanese ones in particular) that are distributed with special held items, that make up part of what they are as an event Pokemon. If items were banned, these Pokemon would have to be transferred without them, and therefore some/all of their original value as an event Pokemon.

Not to mention that people like to give their pokemon Berries etc to hold.

I think they will be. I say this because there are a lot of event Pokemon (Japanese ones in particular) that are distributed with special held items, that make up part of what they are as an event Pokemon. If items were banned, these Pokemon would have to be transferred without them, and therefore some/all of their original value as an event Pokemon.

Not to mention that people like to give their pokemon Berries etc to hold.

Not trying to sound rude, but Gen IV had Pokemon events with special held items that couldn't be transferred to Gen V anyway, so I don't think GF cares all that much about special item events (since they could just make them in the new game anyway). I don't think we'll be able to transfer items mainly because of these two pictures. I feel like there would've been an item icon in the Pokemon Bank/Transporter window if it were possible.

Do you think having one person out of a group of friends being a designated account holder sounds like a good idea? I mean, it would be a little tedious to go to that person every time you wanted to bump generations or pull a Poke out of storage, but it still seems feasible.

I have to admit, $5 isn't a bad price, but I'd really only ever use it for moving generations.

Do you think having one person out of a group of friends being a designated account holder sounds like a good idea? I mean, it would be a little tedious to go to that person every time you wanted to bump generations or pull a Poke out of storage, but it still seems feasible.

I have to admit, $5 isn't a bad price, but I'd really only ever use it for moving generations.

Then you dont need to pay for it, move everything you need when the free trial comes and its done.

About that well if you trust your friends why not if you don't don't do it, if you guys can get a system where I don't know you name 10 boxes are mine and you give thme your name and no one screws with your boxes it would be ok I guess.

Having one person in a group of friends to hold all of your Pokemon is a nice idea if you are really against paying the 5 bucks. but I'd rather have all of my Pokemon available to me whenever I want. Plus not many of my friends play Pokemon, or are getting X and Y.

Do you think having one person out of a group of friends being a designated account holder sounds like a good idea? I mean, it would be a little tedious to go to that person every time you wanted to bump generations or pull a Poke out of storage, but it still seems feasible.

I have to admit, $5 isn't a bad price, but I'd really only ever use it for moving generations.

not really why should your friend have to pay for your transfers?

If it was me I wouldn't mind doing it once or twice but that's it as if I can pay for it so can you

if you only need it to transfer use the free trial or pay for a year and then you have a year of transferring then just don't renew it

They could have very easily made a local transfer option where your Gen 5 pokemon were transferred either to the SD or directly to the Gen 6 cartridge. Regardless of the $5/year price tag, and even if I just transfer all my stuff and unsubscribe, let's just say I want to try and complete the pokedex the following year by catching and transferring more from previous generations. This would entail yet another $5 to sign up in addition to the time needed to subscribe/download and unsubscribe/uninstall again.

So at this point, the game has cost me an additional $10 and a huge waste of time in signing up for unnecessary services, all to simply transfer pokemon from one cartridge to another, both of which are on systems right in front of me that can communicate with one another. The cloud service should be optional and a free local transfer option should be the de-facto inclusion as it's always been. People act as if Nintendo is graciously charging a paltry $5/year, even though the elaborate system-to-internet-to-system is not necessary to perform the intended function. Small extortion or not, it's still extortion.

They could have very easily made a local transfer option where your Gen 5 pokemon were transferred either to the SD or directly to the Gen 6 cartridge. Regardless of the $5/year price tag, and even if I just transfer all my stuff and unsubscribe, let's just say I want to try and complete the pokedex the following year by catching and transferring more from previous generations. This would entail yet another $5 to sign up in addition to the time needed to subscribe/download and unsubscribe/uninstall again.

How do you know for sure that they could've made a local transfer option? And where's the evidence that it could be done? SD cards were likely ignored due to possible cloning implications and the risk of losing valuable data. Masuda and GF (E3) has said many times that it was tricky to facilitate communication between a DS and 3DS cartridge, and the fact that they couldn't facilitate communication between the two is why Pokemon Bank happened in the first place. Just because you think it's possible in your mind, doesn't mean that it can ignore the fundamental problems that is faced by forcing the DS cart to communicate with a 3DS cart.

Originally Posted by abdulmuhsee

So at this point, the game has cost me an additional $10 and a huge waste of time in signing up for unnecessary services, all to simply transfer pokemon from one cartridge to another, both of which are on systems right in front of me that can communicate with one another. The cloud service should be optional and a free local transfer option should be the de-facto inclusion as it's always been. People act as if Nintendo is graciously charging a paltry $5/year, even though the elaborate system-to-internet-to-system is not necessary to perform the intended function. Small extortion or not, it's still extortion.

No one said you had to unsubscribe upon completion (especially if you're going to need the service for another time), so paying 10 bucks and complaining about time wasted is your own fault for unsubscribing in the first place. Again, you're still asserting that the two can communicate when GF said they couldn't. I'd be more inclined to believe GF than a serebii forum user who likely has no idea how programming works.

Lastly, the cloud system IS optional. No one is forcing you to transfer your Pokemon to the 6th gen games. And explain to me how it's extortion, do you even realize how much it costs to maintain cloud servers?

They could have very easily made a local transfer option where your Gen 5 pokemon were transferred either to the SD or directly to the Gen 6 cartridge. Regardless of the $5/year price tag, and even if I just transfer all my stuff and unsubscribe, let's just say I want to try and complete the pokedex the following year by catching and transferring more from previous generations. This would entail yet another $5 to sign up in addition to the time needed to subscribe/download and unsubscribe/uninstall again.

So at this point, the game has cost me an additional $10 and a huge waste of time in signing up for unnecessary services, all to simply transfer pokemon from one cartridge to another, both of which are on systems right in front of me that can communicate with one another. The cloud service should be optional and a free local transfer option should be the de-facto inclusion as it's always been. People act as if Nintendo is graciously charging a paltry $5/year, even though the elaborate system-to-internet-to-system is not necessary to perform the intended function. Small extortion or not, it's still extortion.

All of these points have been explained in many posts in this topic.

1. SD Card based transfer: This opens the floodgates for hacks. Anything stored locally means it cant be checked by a live and online hack checker. They've explicitly said that they want to try and prevent hacks from being passed through into Gen 6.

2. An additional $10? That's your own fault for unsubscribing in the first place. The $5 fee lasts you a year. That's 365 paid days AND the trial to complete your Pokedex. That's a pretty long time to get it done. There's always the option of trading over WiFi, which is free.

3. "Huge waste of time" - It would probably take no longer than 10 minutes to download the app, put in your details and connect. Hardly a huge waste.

4. Extortion? Perhaps you should look up the definition of that word before throwing it around like Nintendo are criminals trying to swindle their customer base into something oh-so-treachoursly extortionate.

5. If you dont like it, dont use it. Simple as. Crying about it isn't going to change the way it works, nor is it going to negate the very reasonable $5 fee, which is required for server upkeep, maintenance, staff payment etc etc.

How do you know for sure that they could've made a local transfer option?

If it can go system-internet-system, then it can go system-sd-system. If some special algorithm is required to convert something as simple as a pokemon's name, stats, and IVs/EVs from Gen 5 to 6, which I highly doubt, then put it on the game cartridge.

Again, you're still asserting that the two can communicate when GF said they couldn't. I'd be more inclined to believe GF than a serebii forum user who likely has no idea how programming works.

The DS and 3DS systems can communicate with one another; I said nothing about a DS cartridge and 3DS cartridge specifically. Again, the DS game could be just as capable of sending the data to its SD card, then you could load it onto the 3DS cartridge; this process is really no different than loading it from my online account. Argue all you want, but yes, this could have easily been done.

Lastly, the cloud system IS optional. No one is forcing you to transfer your Pokemon to the 6th gen games. And explain to me how it's extortion, do you even realize how much it costs to maintain cloud servers?

No, it's not optional. Not if you still want the pokemon you've been collecting for over a decade; it's extortion because it's unnecessary, taking something free and simple and starting to charge money for it, just because they know we want it bad enough to comply. Pokemon already has online servers for a multitude of things, and I highly doubt the text data contained in a pokemon's stats is going to eat up a noticeable amount of bandwidth. Certainly not more than the free Dream World with all the minigames being loaded, or anything else going on with Nintendo.

If it can go system-internet-system, then it can go system-sd-system. If some special algorithm is required to convert something as simple as a pokemon's name, stats, and IVs/EVs from Gen 5 to 6, which I highly doubt, then put it on the game cartridge.

The DS and 3DS systems can communicate with one another; I said nothing about a DS cartridge and 3DS cartridge specifically. Again, the DS game could be just as capable of sending the data to its SD card, then you could load it onto the 3DS cartridge; this process is really no different than loading it from my online account. Argue all you want, but yes, this could have easily been done.

Transferring from Gen V to XY via cloud servers is the only way to transfer at the moment and will likely be the only option to do so.

No, it's not optional. Not if you still want the pokemon you've been collecting for over a decade; it's extortion because it's unnecessary, taking something free and simple and starting to charge money for it, just because they know we want it bad enough to comply. Pokemon already has online servers for a multitude of things, and I highly doubt the text data contained in a pokemon's stats is going to eat up a noticeable amount of bandwidth. Certainly not more than the free Dream World with all the minigames being loaded, or anything else going on with Nintendo.

Transferring being "free" is just an illusion, you still had to pay for a cable before Gen 4 and even a second DS to transfer your Pokémon from Gen IV to Gen V.

As for the SD card thing, not going to happen because like DryBones said, it leads to getting around bringing hacked Pokémon which Gamefreak has been less lenient on now since they're preventing them from getting in X and Y.

1. SD Card based transfer: This opens the floodgates for hacks. Anything stored locally means it cant be checked by a live and online hack checker. They've explicitly said that they want to try and prevent hacks from being passed through into Gen 6.

We'll see how this works out. If a pokemon is within its IV limits with completely legal stats, even if they are maxed out, will it still be detected as a hack? If the service does weed out hacked, RNG'd, etc. pokemon, then I'll change my mind about it, since it will serve a purpose that couldn't be achieved otherwise, but that remains to be seen.

2. An additional $10? That's your own fault for unsubscribing in the first place. The $5 fee lasts you a year. That's 365 paid days AND the trial to complete your Pokedex. That's a pretty long time to get it done. There's always the option of trading over WiFi, which is free.

Some of us have jobs, families, and other hobbies or obligations which prevent us from catching or breeding the hundreds of available pokemon within a single year to complete the pokedex. Nobody should be forced to choose between renewing a yearly fee or grinding the game to death before your subscription is up.

3. "Huge waste of time" - It would probably take no longer than 10 minutes to download the app, put in your details and connect. Hardly a huge waste.

Not hugely time consuming, but definitely moreso than having the ability to do it freely and locally out-of-box as it's always been. More things to sign up for and more annual fees.

4. Extortion? Perhaps you should look up the definition of that word before throwing it around like Nintendo are criminals trying to swindle their customer base into something oh-so-treachoursly extortionate.

People always use the word extortion in daily life to denote something that is unnecessarily expensive, or if they feel indebted against their will for something they can't get anywhere else, such as when your free checking account suddenly starts charging you money to use the account.

5. If you dont like it, dont use it. Simple as. Crying about it isn't going to change the way it works, nor is it going to negate the very reasonable $5 fee, which is required for server upkeep, maintenance, staff payment etc etc.

This argument is getting pretty tiring. If the rent on your apartment suddenly went up $50/month for no particular reason, even if it was easily within your budget, would you accept people telling you, "If you don't like it, move somewhere else"? The fact of the matter is, if I want to transfer pokemon from previous gens, my only option is to pay for this service that has always been free, and I don't take being nickle-and-dimed as easily as the rest of you who are so swift in jumping to GF's defense. If you're going to tell me, "If you don't like it, don't use it. Simple," then I'll say about my opinion, "If you don't like, don't respond to it. Simple."

Some of us have jobs, families, and other hobbies or obligations which prevent us from catching or breeding the hundreds of available pokemon within a single year to complete the pokedex. Nobody should be forced to choose between renewing a yearly fee or grinding the game to death before your subscription is up.

You have know about XY since January why didn't you start catching and collecting then? lol also October - December is more than enough time to do a playthorugh from start to finish of all Gen 4/5 games in your free time especially if you are only bothered about getting pokemon to complete your dex - as you don't need to worry about natures/ivs etc as they can be bred up in XY.

I work Fulltime, have commitments, college and have a life outside of the pokemon games and I feel this is enough time to complete your dex before the free transfer date.

Originally Posted by abdulmuhsee

People always use the word extortion in daily life to denote something that is unnecessarily expensive, or if they feel indebted against their will for something they can't get anywhere else, such as when your free checking account suddenly starts charging you money to use the account.

but you would be given notice of this so you have the option of changing your account to another bank if you don't want to pay

GF have give you the option to transfer for free between the end of Dec and the end of Jan (ironically using Bank) if you don't want to pay then there is your option

also it has been mentioned that XY will contain all Pokémon from past gens (assuming the don't mean Events) which was most likely done because they didn't have a way to transfer them from Gen 5 - 6

also you can now ask for any pokemon using the PSS without having to see it so all you would need to do really is collect your legends/starters as everything else you will be able to get in game

1. SD Card based transfer: This opens the floodgates for hacks. Anything stored locally means it cant be checked by a live and online hack checker. They've explicitly said that they want to try and prevent hacks from being passed through into Gen 6.

2. An additional $10? That's your own fault for unsubscribing in the first place. The $5 fee lasts you a year. That's 365 paid days AND the trial to complete your Pokedex. That's a pretty long time to get it done. There's always the option of trading over WiFi, which is free.

3. "Huge waste of time" - It would probably take no longer than 10 minutes to download the app, put in your details and connect. Hardly a huge waste.

4. Extortion? Perhaps you should look up the definition of that word before throwing it around like Nintendo are criminals trying to swindle their customer base into something oh-so-treachoursly extortionate.

5. If you dont like it, dont use it. Simple as. Crying about it isn't going to change the way it works, nor is it going to negate the very reasonable $5 fee, which is required for server upkeep, maintenance, staff payment etc etc.

Very valid points in your post. Also, they refer to pkmn bank as something for "XY and future releases" so i'm pretty sure migration will never happen again after XY. Pkmn bank might become the only tool from now on to move pkmns through gens, which is very nice IMO. Also, it's not like someone will die because he had to spend 5 bucks for one year access to bank...skip the lunch one day and bam...you saved enough money to pay 1~4 years of pokemon bank depending of what you were going to lunch.

If it can go system-internet-system, then it can go system-sd-system. If some special algorithm is required to convert something as simple as a pokemon's name, stats, and IVs/EVs from Gen 5 to 6, which I highly doubt, then put it on the game cartridge.

That's a very simplistic way of thinking, especially when people have already said here that hacking can be made possible on a SD card (which would defeat the purpose of having an intense security system within the 3DS and its cartridges), as well as cloning being made far easier on an SD format, both of which Nintendo does not want to happen as it is against their policies, so it's obvious why they didn't go for that route.

Originally Posted by abdulmuhsee

The DS and 3DS systems can communicate with one another; I said nothing about a DS cartridge and 3DS cartridge specifically. Again, the DS game could be just as capable of sending the data to its SD card, then you could load it onto the 3DS cartridge; this process is really no different than loading it from my online account. Argue all you want, but yes, this could have easily been done.

Therein lies the problem, you're assuming that the basis of communication lies with the 2 consoles, but it doesn't. Just because the 3DS has a DS mode that can communicate with the DS doesn't mean that the games can communicate in the same way. The data within BW/B2/W2 is inside the cartridge and -by your logic- it's being forced to send data onto something that can never be recognized by the DS cartridge. You see where the fundamental problem lies?

Moreover, how could a DS game even be able to send stuff onto an SD card if the old DS family (Phat/Lite/DSi) never had the capability of doing so? (R4s etc. do not count). Again, you're asking the old technology to do something that could never be done. Another fundamental problem.

Originally Posted by abdulmuhsee

No, it's not optional. Not if you still want the pokemon you've been collecting for over a decade; it's extortion because it's unnecessary, taking something free and simple and starting to charge money for it, just because they know we want it bad enough to comply. Pokemon already has online servers for a multitude of things, and I highly doubt the text data contained in a pokemon's stats is going to eat up a noticeable amount of bandwidth. Certainly not more than the free Dream World with all the minigames being loaded, or anything else going on with Nintendo.

How is it not optional...? You either decide to transfer it, or you don't.

Another problem, transferring was never free unless you're talking about Gen III > Gen IV (since it was done in one console), and as such it is an illusionary concept. Back in Gens I and II, you had to spend money on a link cable to facilitate transferring between RBY and GSC. In Gen III we had to buy a completely new cable since GBA was different from GB/C. In Gen IV, we had to buy another system just to trade since local wireless (infrared) didn't exist, the same goes for Gen V. So really, it was never free. And more importantly, the proprietary item listed are far more expensive than a subscription to Pokemon Bank.

You do realize that the servers are different? 1 is for Wi-Fi services such as event Pokemon, battling, and trading. The dream world server is for bringing Pokemon from the DW. Both of them do NOT deal with storage, that's where you miss the point. The other is meant solely for storage, and as such they'd need space and consistent maintaining of data to ascertain that they're not compromised. Moreover, where's the evidence to back up your claims that bandwidth wouldn't be excessive?

If you want Pokémon Storage, 3rd Gen costs about Ł20 for a Small run of the "Box RS" game for Game Cube. This Disc was almost never sold on it's own, with the exception being sold in one Location. You can store up to 1500 Pokémon per Memory card you own. You also may need to buy Ł15 cable to use it. However the Ł35 cost is only spent once.

The next game for Storage game, "My Pokémon Ranch" costs under Ł10 (for 1000 Wii Points*) for the Wii. (It may be on Wii U in Wii mode.(Can someone confirm it for me?)) You could only store 1000 Pokémon, and you couldn't move Pokémon between games. The Price is only spent once, for the life time of the Wii. However, Multiple Wiis and Purchases are needed for each additional 1000 Pokémon.

There was no 5th Gen Storage option available, outside Trading to other games.

So at Ł5, it would take 7 years of Pokémon Box 3DS would equal the cost of Box RS. Just under 2 years to equal the price of My Pokémon Ranch.

*Current Price of "Wii Points cards" are Ł15 for 1700.

I've mentioned this before, but here it is again. On the GameCube and Wii, the safe files for Box RS, Coloseam, XD and Ranch can not be moved or Copied at all. (Ranch is saved on the Wii's internal Storage, while the game files can be stored on the SD card). By Sending the Pokémon online you can't copy the SD card and create clones.

Out of few the 3DS Cart games that connect with their DS counterparts, all of the ones that I can find have a PAID 3DS app to connect their DS game to their 3DS game.

Some hackers have found several "operating" systems on the 3DS. One "OS" is for 3ds games, another is for the Downloadable GBA Roms. The most significant is that the "DSi OS" is there... so when your 3DS is playing a DS game: The game thinks it's running on a DSi. Your 3DS has the Download play software from the Phat DS.

Ł5 is alot cheaper than Ł40 for a similar service on another console.

If someone pay the money, you shouldn't complain, they're paying for more stuff for everyone to get for "Free".

We'll see how this works out. If a pokemon is within its IV limits with completely legal stats, even if they are maxed out, will it still be detected as a hack? If the service does weed out hacked, RNG'd, etc. pokemon, then I'll change my mind about it, since it will serve a purpose that couldn't be achieved otherwise, but that remains to be seen.

Some of us have jobs, families, and other hobbies or obligations which prevent us from catching or breeding the hundreds of available pokemon within a single year to complete the pokedex. Nobody should be forced to choose between renewing a yearly fee or grinding the game to death before your subscription is up.

Not hugely time consuming, but definitely moreso than having the ability to do it freely and locally out-of-box as it's always been. More things to sign up for and more annual fees.

People always use the word extortion in daily life to denote something that is unnecessarily expensive, or if they feel indebted against their will for something they can't get anywhere else, such as when your free checking account suddenly starts charging you money to use the account.

This argument is getting pretty tiring. If the rent on your apartment suddenly went up $50/month for no particular reason, even if it was easily within your budget, would you accept people telling you, "If you don't like it, move somewhere else"? The fact of the matter is, if I want to transfer pokemon from previous gens, my only option is to pay for this service that has always been free, and I don't take being nickle-and-dimed as easily as the rest of you who are so swift in jumping to GF's defense. If you're going to tell me, "If you don't like it, don't use it. Simple," then I'll say about my opinion, "If you don't like, don't respond to it. Simple."

Free transers out of the box? Only if you stole a 2nd DS system.

If you are so pressed for time and you feel you're being nickel and dimed, and feel that a VIDEO GAME APP (which has a free trial period) is similar to one's shelter being raised in cost, then feel free to no longer support this horrible video game company and don't play gen 6

Last edited by randomspot555; 22nd September 2013 at 11:54 PM.

I'm part of the staff at Project Pokemon! Smod in forums, AOP in IRC, Administrator on Shoddy. Come visit us. Our Project is Pokemon!

If you are so pressed for time and you feel you're being nickel and dimed, and feel that a VIDEO GAME APP (which has a free trial period) is similar to one's shelter being raised in cost, then feel free to no longer support this horrible video game company and don't play gen 6

Family and/or friends will undoubtedly have another DS to do transfers with, so yes, out-of-box free transfers.

That's what I think about the issue, and at most, the storage should be a premium service separate from a simple transfer. Even if going through their online servers was necessary to prevent hacks/clones/etc., it would be a simple matter to upload, then retrieve within an allotted time without keeping them (i.e. - virtually non-existent data, space-wise) in storage. People act as if they're offering several gigs of data like a normal cloud service.

Also, data is stored permanently at length for PDW at no cost; no amount of text in the form of pokemon stats can possibly take up significant space. There are countless free cloud services that let you upload comparatively vast amounts of data, when Pokemon Bank amounts to charging people to store a couple megabytes at most. It's not to compensate the required costs of storage, as seems to be believed, but to make money. I'm already supporting them by purchasing their new game and console every time, and this is another way to make sure the money keeps flowing from my pocket.

You're also putting words in my mouth; I never said GF was a 'horrible video game company,' but I recognize, unlike the apparently unwavering GF fans here, that it's an attempt to make money, not a gracious gesture to fans. I would expect a company to find ways to increase profits, but it's surprising that one cannot have a differing opinion here without the response constantly boiling down to, "If you don't like it, don't play it." This is a discussion thread, after all, and it feels like being nickel-and-dimed to me, especially when the fee is continuous.

Transfers haven't been free since this game started. Way back with the original white bricks you still had to buy a cable, and you had to have a second system. Now, I was lucky growing up as my younger sister also played, so we always had two systems about. When I moved out, I had to fork up for a second system because no mumy around to buy my sister hers <3

So now I will have pokebank, and no need to fork out for a second system which is *cheaper* in the long run. Although I will buy another system anyway, the new X&Y systems look too awesome >_>